Video Feature: A low-wattage workout

Meet Kimberly Lau and Maha Haji, two Berkeley mechanical engineers who want to make workouts at the gym kinder on the planet.

At UC Berkeley’s Recreational Sports Facility, where they work out, Lau and Haji noticed all those people burning calories on exercise machines. Racing on treadmills. Striding on ellipticals. Churning on stationary bikes. What if that energy could be harnessed? Could workouts be more energy wise?

Last year they started their project, Human Power Generation in Fitness Facilities, to find out. Watch as they explore these questions and learn how you can make greener choices at the gym.